I have planes and race drones, FPV gear, etc but cannot fly well. Looking to buy the sim from HH. Off topic for surface RC. Recommendations?

[crimsonfancy]

I may buy RealFlight soon. I have three foam planes, babyhawks, some other quads and a built race-style quad that I suck at flying. I'm better los than fpv but also have Aomway goggles and a bunch of other stuff. I bought and built all these things before I got into surface RC and well before Arrma but the stuff sits and I need to fly em. Also FrSky QX7 radio and some rx and vtx I bet still unopened.
For flying folks, what do you feel about RealFlight 9 and could you suggest a best flight sim to learn on so I can feel better about not wrecking what I own right away. I've wrecked and lost a few quads because I told myself I could learn without a sim. Now I've decided to bite the bullet. RealFlight seems like it could have the best support.
Thanks for any guidance.

 

[Camaroboy383]

ive always liked the realflight stuff... its pretty close to the real deal.. when i learned to fly heli's years ago i just went for it and skipped on the sims.. started with old fixed pitch choppers called crickets.. smashed the hell outta them things.. ?.. i even lost a few from active gyros, (rotary) they would suck the rx battery dry so fast.. anyway years after that i got into 3d heli flight.. there were several things i just could have never learned without the sim... its worth the money for sure...


drones when they came along was for me quite easy, i just couldnt get into them, for me it took the excitement out of flying, they basically fly themselves and they flew exactly like my starter fixed pitch heli's...


now these race drones come along again years later.. they look exciting being so fast now, but i cant bring myself to do it... anywho, sim is worth the ching, cause it will be spent up easily with smashed rigs anyway...✌

 

[crimsonfancy]

ive always liked the realflight stuff... its pretty close to the real deal.. when i learned to fly heli's years ago i just went for it and skipped on the sims.. started with old fixed pitch choppers called crickets.. smashed the hell outta them things.. ?.. i even lost a few from active gyros, (rotary) they would suck the rx battery dry so fast.. anyway years after that i got into 3d heli flight.. there were several things i just could have never learned without the sim... its worth the money for sure...


drones when they came along was for me quite easy, i just couldnt get into them, for me it took the excitement out of flying, they basically fly themselves and they flew exactly like my starter fixed pitch heli's...


now these race drones come along again years later.. they look exciting being so fast now, but i cant bring myself to do it... anywho, sim is worth the ching, cause it will be spent up easily with smashed rigs anyway...✌

I'm close to pulling the trigger. RF9 looks like important improvements have been made but it's annoying that there's no current system to have free upgrades as they progress in versions.
I'd buy it with the sim radio and run it wired.
I don't have an external optical drive so I'm hoping the cd code will work with a downloaded version of the software. I'd buy a $30 external drive but would be useless I figure after I install this software.
At just under $200 it seems pricey but I have plenty more $ than that in models I'm afraid to break just sitting on the shelf. I also have revisited the Flight Test store and would be ok spending for some of their cheap foam models especially if I can get the fun out of painting them and modifying over time.
Planes seem less expensive than surface for costs necessary to just get in and have fun. I may want to go faster or I may not. Also, with FPV capabilities already on-hand and paid for, I'm wasting opportunity. I stuck an fpv cam on my Slash a few years ago and didn't really do much for me even though the Aomway goggles are pretty decent. Need more excitement that would come with more axis.
I have a plane big enough to carry a gopro and mounts I'm sure I can get fit. Film footage could be worth the investment too.
I had a decent 4k drone that was easy to fly but too slow and limited with no stunt capability. I sold it fortunately. Altitude hold is nice to record stuff but not fun for just flying around.
I'll sleep on it some more but getting close. Thank you for your help!

 

[fpvmiller]

I use velocidrone, drl, and fpv freerider.

I even fly acro indoors with my tinyhawk and betafpv (see my avatar) drones.

Definitely sim it up for fpv flying in acro. I wouldn't fly in angle mode if I can help it.

@Camaroboy383 my only drones that fly themselves are my 4k ap rig (only 1) and my long range quads that use gps to fly back to my range...it won't/can't auto land. Beyond that, all my drones have no auto-flight on them. My 6S freestyle rigs scream on speed and gain altitude in a heartbeat. Fpv just makes it that much better.

 

[arrma_tigger]

I have enjoyed RealFlight as well. I fly but I haven't used FPV yet. The closest is via the camera on a drone. I'd LOVE to try a race drone - and they do use FPV.

 

[crimsonfancy]

I use velocidrone, drl, and fpv freerider.

I even fly acro indoors with my tinyhawk and betafpv (see my avatar) drones.

Definitely sim it up for fpv flying in acro. I wouldn't fly in angle mode if I can help it.

@Camaroboy383 my only drones that fly themselves are my 4k ap rig (only 1) and my long range quads that use gps to fly back to my range...it won't/can't auto land. Beyond that, all my drones have no auto-flight on them. My 6S freestyle rigs scream on speed and gain altitude in a heartbeat. Fpv just makes it that much better.

I also have a blue beta FPV drone. Brushed model. I'd have to find it but certainly works well inside and I'd like to gain more confidence flying it.
I don't love the QX7 and wish for something more intuitive so I may sell it. Or, maybe I haven't messed with it lately and should see if I understand it better. I also may sell the babyhawks and the race drone. We'll see. I mostly want to see if I can get my planes in the air but not because I don't like the drones. We'll see. Thanks for your input.

 

[fpvmiller]

I have had a bunch of frsky tx's. The programming capabilities on them are unmatched IMO.

X9D+, qx7, qx7s, x-lite and x9lite all in that sequence. I still have the xlite and the x9lite is my regular tx.

If you aren't going to stay in fpv drones then realflight may be more suited to your needs.

 

[crimsonfancy]

I have had a bunch of frsky tx's. The programming capabilities on them are unmatched IMO.

X9D+, qx7, qx7s, x-lite and x9lite all in that sequence. I still have the xlite and the x9lite is my regular tx.

If you aren't going to stay in fpv drones then realflight may be more suited to your needs.

I don't know what I'm gonna do but I'm disappointed that I leave the stuff sitting on the shelf. I understand the potential of frsky and not sure yet if I need all of it. Still the QX7 is a versatile good buy considering the cost of even surface radios.

 

[fpvmiller]

Frsky as a system is way more economical compared to surface systems. Rx's for less than $25 can't be beat especially considering you get telemetry capabilities with majority of them. As an example, on my x9lite my momentary switch is programmed with 5 different functions depending on how I trigger it. 16+ channels, range up to 2km (usually) on 2.4 without antenna boosting and the jr module for 900mhz systems. There are way more expensive air systems out there but for fpv drones and standard fixed wing and helis frsky is hard to beat for the value.

 

[suchtragedy]

Frsky as a system is way more economical compared to surface systems. Rx's for less than $25 can't be beat especially considering you get telemetry capabilities with majority of them. As an example, on my x9lite my momentary switch is programmed with 5 different functions depending on how I trigger it. 16+ channels, range up to 2km (usually) on 2.4 without antenna boosting and the jr module for 900mhz systems. There are way more expensive air systems out there but for fpv drones and standard fixed wing and helis frsky is hard to beat for the value.

I got an x9lite decked out with 3d printed solutions for various add-ons like crossfire JR module, 5db removable antenna, and fpv monitor mounting. Most parts I had to whip up myself by adapting designs intended for the X9D because it was so new at the time that it came with OpenTX 2.2 in release candidate form. OpenTX is so powerful and intuitive and I found it easy to use as this was my first and only transmitter for quads. I am using it with 5 different models mixed between D8, D16, Frsky, and Crossfire. Absolutely love it for size, weight, and features. Plus Amber sound pack is dope haha.

It's just too bad ground RC has got my attention more than FPV does right now ?

 

[jkflow]

I'm almost in the same boat, planes hanging in the garage and re-learning. Using RF FX with module that plugs into my TX.
Very realistic and worth the money imho. Once you learn the basics you leave it quickly behind though.
I thought I could pick it up where I left off but glad I reloaded this stuff, crashed more than I remember doing!

I believe they now offer downloads, I had to endust my DVD drive to get it installed.

 

[JvG]

I noticed i got much better in the sims after i flew them for real a few times.
So i'd start with a simple cheap thing to fly around, try and get the feel for it.

 

[fpvmiller]

@suchtragedy yep my x9lite is an awesome tx. My xlite is comfortable but I just like the feel of the x9lite more. I use frskys r9m lite pro for 900mhz because I don't like tbs founders attitude and behavior. So I choose to not own anything tbs. What sucks is I got velocidrone before tbs collaborated with them and I can't get a refund so I see tbs on my screen when I load it

But my drones are being neglected thanks to the pandemic. I still have 3 needing to be built and at least 3 that need tuned. They have been built but never flown lol. My betafpv 75xhd and hx115hd were the last ones I flew because they are my smallest. The ones I enjoy flying the most are my 6S 6 and 7 inch freestyle rigs.